Top Programs and Events in January and February

Included in this advisory are key programs and events at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science that aim to inspire curiosity and excite minds of all ages through scientific discovery. 

TEMPORARY EXHIBITION

NEW! Lizards & Snakes - FREE with Admission

Opens February 3

See 60 live animals at the Museum. The Burmese python, Gila monster, komodo dragon, green basilisk, and more star in this fascinating exhibition. Featuring an impressive lineup of lizards and snakes from five continents, Lizards & Snakes introduces visitors to these adaptable, colorful, and sometimes dangerous creatures. The engaging combination of  live animals, real and cast fossils, extensive multimedia, hands-on interactives, and an activity area specifically for children offers a fascinating look into the wild world of lizards and snakes that will enthrall and educate visitors of all ages.

SPECIAL OFFER

FREE Field Trips for 2011-2012 School Year

The Museum is offering free exhibition admission and free self-guided tours to all school groups and organized youth groups this school year. Additionally, the Museum is offering scholarships to cover bus fuel costs and to reduce fees for onsite labs and classes. As the region's leading resource for informal science education, the Museum hosts more than 300,000 students and their chaperones each year. The organization is committed to making science affordable, fun, exciting, and engaging. Learn more at  www.dmns.org/teachers.

PHOTOGRAPHY EXHIBIT

A Strange Beauty, Photographic Studies by John Bonath - FREE with Admission

Closes February 19

The first exhibition of its kind and scale, "A Strange Beauty," presents some of the Museum's scientific treasures-such as snake skin sheds, horse skulls, rocks, and minerals-to the public in the form of art. Bonath's work portrays his belief that in this world every object has a story that can be unlocked by the viewer's imagination.

IMAX

NEW! Tornado Alley 3D

Opens January 27

Experience the adrenaline and the science of nature's most dramatic phenomena. Join Storm Chasers star Sean Casey and the researchers of Vortex 2, the most ambitious effort ever made to understand the origins and evolution of tornadoes, in this heart-pounding science adventure.

NEW! Flying Monsters

Opens January 27

Uncover the truth about the mysterious pterosaurs, whose wingspans of up to 40 feet were equal to that of a modern jet plane.  Enter the lush and alien environment in which these creatures lived, and experience real flying monsters.

PLANETARUIM

NEW! Wildest Weather in the Solar System

Opens January 27

Take a spectacular journey to witness the most beautiful, powerful, and mysterious weather phenomena in the solar system. After seeing a storm the size of a 100-megaton hydrogen bomb and a 400-year-old hurricane, you'll be glad you live on Earth.

JANUARY EVENTS

A Zoologist's Amazing Mongolian Adventures

Wednesday, January 18, 7 p.m., $8 member, $10 nonmember

Last summer, Zoology Department chair John Demboski joined a field expedition to Mongolia to study the country's vertebrate animals. Demboski returned with a load of scientific data as well as remarkable tales of fermented mare's milk, wild gerbils and hamsters, efforts to save the very endangered Gobi bear, an unexpected run-in with local shakedown artists, and bad combinations of snow in July and unreliable Russian vehicles, all topped off by meeting the U.S. Ambassador to Mongolia in the middle of nowhere.

SCFD Community FREE Day

January 30, 9 a.m.-5 p.m., FREE

Enjoy outstanding permanent exhibitions including Expedition Health, Space Odyssey, Prehistoric Journey, and Egyptian Mummies; and participate in games and activities for the whole family.

Science Lounge: Know Your Snow
Thursday, January 19, 6:30-9:30 p.m., $8 member, $10 nonmember

(If sold out online, tickets available at the door.)Enjoy a mind-expanding experience with cocktails and entertainment every third Thursday of the month. Ages 21 and up. This month, it's no secret that Coloradans love their snow. Whether you're always on the lookout for the next Epic Pass-worthy, call-in-sick powder day, or just love a good snowball fight, you'll get to know snow like never before. Chill out with our signature cocktail, The Frostini, as you learn about the crystalline structure of snowflakes, the physics of skiing, and how moguls migrate uphill.

60 Minutes in Space

Wednesday, January 25, 7 p.m., FREE

Go "behind the stories" in space science using the best images and animation available to help understand new developments. Seating is limited to first come, first served.

FEBRUARY EVENTS

Darwin Day with Sean B. Carroll

Monday, February 13, 7 p.m., $12 member, $15 nonmember

Celebrate Charles Darwin's birthday with award-winning biologist and author Sean B. Carroll. His research focuses on the genes that control animal body patterns and play major roles in the evolution of animal diversity. Thanks to modern science, Carroll has discovered biological causes for evolution using technology that didn't exist in Darwin's day, providing the missing link to Darwin's history-changing research.

Science Lounge: Hugs and Hisses
Thursday, February 16, 6:30-9:30 p.m., $8 member, $10 nonmember

(If sold out online, tickets available at the door.) Enjoy a mind-expanding experience with cocktails and entertainment every third Thursday of the month. Ages 21 and up. This month, they may not send chocolate or flowers, but lizards and snakes have spent millions of years doing whatever it takes to impress their mates. In honor of Valentine's Day, we're taking a cue from these romance-savvy animals that understand the language of love. Learn the courtship dances of the monitor lizard and bearded dragon, tour the Lizards & Snakes exhibition, and head to the bar for The Snakebite.

SCFD Community FREE Day

February 27, 9 a.m.-5 p.m., FREE

Visit Lizards & Snakes; enjoy outstanding permanent exhibitions including Expedition Health, Space Odyssey, Prehistoric Journey, and Egyptian Mummies; and participate in games and activities for the whole family.

The Little Creatures of Snowmass

Tuesday, February 28, 7 p.m., $8 member, $10 nonmember

As usual, the big guys get all the attention. The large, dramatic fossils of mammoths and mastodons stole the spotlight at the Ice Age dig site near Snowmass Village, but as the science continues, evidence keeps piling up for the little creatures. Richard Stucky, curator of paleoecology and evolution, will introduce you to the lesser-known characters of the Snowmastodon Project-like chipmunks, voles, salamanders, and shrews. What you will learn may surprise you, and will just go to show how resilient the little guys can be.

MEDIA CONTACT

Charlotte Hurley: 303-370-6407, Charlotte.Hurley@dmns.org

About the Denver Museum of Nature & Science
The Denver Museum of Nature & Science is the Rocky Mountain Region's leading resource for informal science education. A variety of engaging exhibits, discussions and activities help Museum visitors celebrate and understand the natural wonders of Colorado, Earth and the universe. The Museum is located at 2001 Colorado Blvd., Denver, CO, 80205.  To learn more about the Museum, check www.dmns.org, or call 303-370-6000.
 
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Many of the Museum's educational programs and exhibits are made possible in part by the citizens of the seven-county metro area through the Scientific & Cultural Facilities District.